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2022 saw another busy summer period across Albion in the Community.

While the football season came to a close in May, our work for the summer was only just getting started.

With holiday summer camps, special summer events and the small matter of a European Championships on the horizon, we looked forward to a jam-packed summer of football.

With COVID restrictions finally phasing out towards the end of the season, this summer represented the first chance for our newer Albion players to get out into the community and meet some of our amazing participants.

Plenty of players came out to meet participants over the holidays: from goalkeepers Kjell Scherpen and Tom McGill visiting a Brighton school to talk about nutrition, to Solly March presenting certificates to two graduates of our Premier League Kicks programme.

Thousands of people got involved in our activities over the summer, whether that was holiday soccer schools, Premier League Kicks sessions, or special women’s football activities to celebrate the Euros.

Gully also made a tour of Sussex in June and July, visiting schools, businesses, and Brighton landmarks as part of our Blue and White Week celebrations.

Here are some of the highlights of what was an incredible summer for Albion in the Community.

A BT Sport showcase in the FA Blind Cup Final

The summer kicked off with a visit to the bright lights of St George’s Park in front of the BT Sport cameras.

Brighton & Hove Albion Blind FC earned an FA Cup runners-up medal after a valiant display at St George’s Park on June 11.

The Seagulls took on RNC Hereford in the Blind Final at the FA Disability Cup, with the game broadcast live to thousands of people on BT Sport.

Blind football’s showpiece event took place at the England national football HQ in Burton-upon-Trent, giving the players the chance to play at the facility where England’s national teams play and train.

The final received extensive coverage in the media, with both BT Sport and BBC South East filming video features with members of the Albion squad.

The game was full of dramatic twists and turns; the announcer labelled it the “best final we have ever seen in this competition.”

17-year-old captain Efe Shimwell put Albion 1-0 ahead before half-time, but two second-half Hereford goals left the Seagulls with a mountain to climb.

However, with just two minutes left on the clock, former Paralympian and England legend Robin Williams scored a fine solo goal to level the score.

The game was decided by a dramatic penalty shoot-out, with striker Darren Harris scoring the winning penalty for Hereford.

Each member of the Albion squad was presented with a runners-up medal after the game to honour their impressive achievement.

Women’s football in the spotlight after Lionesses triumph

2022 really was a landmark summer for women’s football in England.

We were lucky enough to host three UEFA Women’s Euros fixtures here at the Amex, including two historic victories for the Lionesses on their way to lifting the trophy.

The crowd at the Amex got to witness two record-breaking moments on the Lionesses’ path to glory: the biggest ever European Championship victory in an 8-0 win over Norway, and the biggest ever attendance in a quarter-final during England’s heroic 2-1 victory over Spain.

Hosting (and winning) such a major tournament had massive reverberations for the sport nationwide, and indeed here in Sussex.

In the wake of the Euros we saw a huge increase in the number of girls signing up to our football sessions – we saw double the number girls sign up to our football sessions (soccer schools, after-school clubs, and talent pathway sessions) this summer compared to the same period in 2021.

Since then we have also seen a 73% increase in girls signing up for our Talent Pathway or Advanced Centre sessions – in other words, girls taking a serious interest in playing football every week.

The Euros have been a landmark tournament for women’s football in England. We were lucky enough to have three games hosted at our very own Amex Stadium – two of which featured the Lionesses.

Albion Women have also announced a record-breaking number of season ticket sales, with the WSL expecting bumper attendances this season.

Jeremy, Joel, and Moises celebrate 25 years of disability football

This summer we celebrated 25 years of our disability football programme.

As part of the celebrations, three Albion stars visited participants at a holiday football camp in Lancing.

Around 40 members of the disability programme came to a football camp at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre in Lancing, where they enjoyed a day of fun football activities before meeting some special guests in the afternoon.

Joel Veltman was joined by Ecuadorian starlets Jeremy Sarmiento and Moises Caicedo in meeting participants at the football camp.

The Premier League stars met and greeted participants, signing shirts and posing for photos with the group.

As part of the celebrations each participant was given an authentic match-issued Albion shirt from a recent Premier League season.

Coaches also nominated three participants who had showed lots of enthusiastic to receive a special gift; Sarmiento, Caicedo and Veltman each presented them with one of their very own signed Albion shirts.

Six Albion stars visit American Express ‘PLAY Together’ Football Festival

Six Albion first-team players treated participants to a surprise visit at a football festival in July.

More than 120 people joined us in Lancing for an American Express festival of football celebrating inclusion and fair play.

The first ever PLAY Together Football Festival took place at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre.

Girls and boys from across Sussex arrived at the Community Pitch for a day of fun football tournaments funded by and in partnership with American Express, designed to bring people together from under-represented groups.

Six Albion stars came along and surprised the young players: Joel Veltman, Julia Zigiotti Olme, Katie Robinson and Emma Kullberg, and captains Lewis Dunk and Victoria Williams.

The Premier League and WSL stars made the football festival even more special for the kids attending. They met and posed for photos with the participants, signed shirts, and stayed to help mediate games afterwards.

Dozens of women also joined us to take part in a walking football showcase festival.

The day consisted of three mini-festivals in a “Football 3” format. Football 3 has three halves, no referee, and points are awarded for fair play, with participants deciding on their own rules before the game to ensure everybody enjoys themselves.

Led by Albion in the Community coaches and supported by American Express volunteers, the PLAY Together Football Festival was created to bring together under-represented groups and young people from targeted communities, to play in mixed gender and ability teams.

Premier League trophy takes a trip to the Amex

As summer began to wind down, we were treated to a visit from the coveted Premier League trophy at the end of August.

The famous trophy was brought to the Amex as part of a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Premier League.

Participants in our disability football programme were given the chance to see the trophy in the flesh and pose for a photo.

Former Albion players Guy Butters, Andrew Crofts, and Gary Dicker also gave the participants an exclusive tour of the stadium.

The trophy was also taken to an AITC summer camp at Dorothy Stringer School in Brighton.

Dozens of children at Dorothy Stringer got the chance to see the trophy up close, and also had a Q&A section where they learned facts about the trophy.

Chair of the Board of Trustees, Martin Perry, was also at the Amex and presented the Premier League Community Captain award to Dan Coppard.

Dan, a member of Brighton & Hove Albion Amputee FC, is also a community coach for AITC at our disability football sessions.

The award was presented to him in recognition of his outstanding commitment to Albion in the Community.

Dan said: “I started off as a player eight years ago, then to have the opportunity to become a coach with AITC and to get to where I am now it’s been absolutely amazing.”